Passengers walk through a waterlogged area following heavy rains, in Chennai on Wednesday.
Schools and colleges in Chennai and adjoining districts that were functioning normally since October have now again started switching to online classes after the state government declared holidays following heavy rains.
The government has declared holidays in Chennai and adjoining districts and the headmasters and teachers do not want the children to face the loss of their studies again due to the festival holidays and now rains.
Sudhakumari, principal of a private school in Chennai’s Anna Nagar (West), told IANS: “The government has declared holidays for schools due to rain and we don’t want students to lose classes continuously. Classes don’t take place during Diwali. The festival and now the government has declared holidays due to rain and this will end the continuity in the studies of the students. Hence, we have again opted for online classes.”
However, not all teachers are enthusiastic about the online mode of teaching as there are power cuts in many parts of Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.
Elizabeth Neena, principal of a private school in OMR, Chennai, told IANS, “We wanted to conduct online classes for the students, but many students are in places where there is no electricity for the last two days and some low-lying areas have water. . Entered homes. So when the situation returns to normal, I prefer to give them leave and take extra classes.”
MCC Higher Secondary School in Chetpet, Chennai has started online classes but did not make classes compulsory for students in view of heavy rains, power failure and water-logging in many parts of the city and adjoining areas Is.
Speaking to IANS, school principal GJ Manohar said, “The children and teachers facing waterlogging and power failure need not attend classes as it is not mandatory.”
Most of the schools have started online classes for the students of class VI to XII. School management and teachers said that going to the online platform was not difficult as they had the experience of taking online classes during the pandemic.
Colleges are also allowed to take classes and students can choose whether they are attending classes due to power failure and rain-related issues. Most of the colleges have instructed teachers to conduct classes if online attendance is 80% or more. The teacher is free to cancel the class if there is low participation.
Teachers are expected to cover more theory parts in online classes and focus on practical classes once physical classes resume.
Most areas of the city were also submerged on Wednesday, including Kolathur, the constituency of Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Meanwhile, red alert for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kallakurichi, Salem, Vellore, Tirupattur, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on November 11. Thunderstorm accompanied with very heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely at some places. At these places, the IMD said.
“We are expecting more than 250 mm of rain in and around Chennai in the next 2 days. We have taken a lot of steps, mobilized additional pumps on rent and have around 492 pumps in the major pump category apart from other pumps,” Chennai Corporation Commissioner, Gagandeep S Bedi said.
“We have already deployed them in low-lying areas. We have deployed 46 boats in different parts of the city in case of floods. 2.5 lakh people are given food. We have set up 200 medical camps,” he added.
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